Heel-forming block.



E. E. WINKLEY. HEEL FORMING BLOCK. APPLICATION FILED 13116.21, 1912.

1 1 2 1 ,704, Patented Dec. 22, 1914.

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ERASTUS E. WINKLEY, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

HEEL-FORMING BLOCK.

original application filed June 1, 1908,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 22, 1914.

Serial No. 436,093. Divided and this application filed August 21,

1912. Serial No. 716,151.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ERASTUS E. lVINKLnY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heel-Forming Blocks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the manufacture of boots and shoes and more particularly to the manufacture of heel-forming blocks to be utilized in the production of wedge heels in multiple.

In making wedge heels it has been customary heretofore in one case to fashion.

them from a single piece of material, as a block of wood, or, in another case, to make heel blanks by superposing on each other a plurality of lifts of suitable material dinked out to the general contour of a finished heel lift and gain the desired greater height at the back of the heel by utilizing a short lift, generally wedge-shaped, which is disposed at the back of the heel and about midway of its height. In the former case, although the single heel blocks can be made in multiple from large blocks of wood, these heel blocks, after having been sawed or otherwise cut to an angular form, must then be further out to wedge shape and to the desired finished contour, as wood heels cannot be placed in a compressing machine and shaped by pressure. This is an expensive and wasteful method of making heels in multiple. In the latter case the heel blanks, although capable of being finally molded to shape by a single compression, must be made singly by assembling together a series of lifts in each instance, which, though less wasteful of stock, is slow and laborious. Also, such heels require a great many cutting dies in the making, which is expensive.

The object of the invention is to provide the trade with a single coherent article of manufacture, capable of being severed, by a series of right line cuts, into a multiplicity of single wedge heel blocks of such size and form as may be required by the manufacturer, suitable for finishing into the type of heel known commercially as Military, Cuban, Louis, etc., and having the appearance of the heels made from individual dinked out lifts by the old method.

To the accomplishment of this object the present invention contemplates the production of a heel-forming block comprising a plurality of sheets of heel stock material, and one or more strips of heel stock material so located across said sheets, and of such cross sectional area, as to produce a multiplicity of single wedge heel blocks by a severance of the heel-forming block on right lines through the assembled parts. The strip or strips may be located across the sheets in any relation thereto found desirable or expedient. In the preferred form of the invention, however, the strip or strips are located between the sheets.

The invention contemplates the production of heel-forming blocks out of heel stock material other than leather, such for instance, as leather board, or a similar leather or paper composition, although heel stock of any character may be utilized. For con venience in nomenclature the heel stock,'of whatever character, will hereinafter be referred to as leatherboard simply. The

heel-forming block of the present invention permits the manufacture of heels from the cheaper heel stock material in a simple and economic manner while yet retaining in the product the more desirable qualities of heels manufactured from more costly materials.

The various features of the invention will be readily understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, in which Figure 1 is a perspective of a portion of a forming plate or block having thereon a partially built-up heel-forming block of a desired size; Fig. 2 is an end view, in elevation, of the parts shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end View, similar to Fig. 2, but showing a completely built-up heel-forming block between top and bottom forming plates or blocks; Fig. t is a perspective (broken away) of a heel-forming block after it has been secured together and removed from between the forming plates; Figs. 5, G and T are perspectives of the sections formed in the steps of severing the heel-forming block of Fig. 4 into single wedge heel blocks; l ig. 7 showing a completely severed single wedge heel block; and Figs. 8 and 9 show respectively a single wedge heel block shaped at the back, and a wedge heel block comto face, and placed on a forming plate 4:. Preferably these sheets of leatherboard are suitably gummed, either before or after being placed on the forming plate, as may be most convenient, so that they will adhere together. The number of sheets 2 which are first superposed on each other form to gether a block of about the thickness of 0ne-half the height of'the heel which is to be made. 'Thereafter there are laid side by side on theblock formed by the sheets 2, a series of strips 6, preferably of the same material as the sheets 2, although this is not essential, said strips extending across the sheets and substantially parallel to each other, as shown most clearly in Fig. 1. By preference the strips 6 are lozenge-shaped in cross section, as most clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and are laid at intervals on the sheet 2, although their longitudinal edges maybe placed in contact if desired. The heel-forming block now has the appearance shown in Fig. 1. Thereafter a second series of sheets 8 similar in conformation to the sheets 2 are superposed on eachother and placed on top of the strips 6. A second forming plate 10 is then placed on the sheets 8 and the heel-forming block and forming plates then have the appearance shown in Fig. 3, there being open spaces 11 between the strips 6. It should, of course, be understood that the particular sequence in which the constituent parts of the heel-forming block are introduced between the forming plates is entirely immaterial, the importance residing in the relative location of such parts.

Preferably, the faces of the forming plates 4: and 10 are constructed as die faces having each a series of flat portions 12 and slanting portions 1 1, which slanting portions are in pairs and form together ridges 15 between the flat portions 12, the ridges 15 extending across theplates and parallel to each other. The flat portions 12 and the ridges 15 of the plates l and. 10 are so ar ranged relatively that when the plates are placed at opposite sides of the heel-forming block, as shown in Fig. 3, the ridges 15' of one plate are substantially opposite the center of the fiat portions 12 of the other plate; that is, theridges of the two plates 15 are staggered with relation to each other. It will be noted that in arranging the strips 6 they are placed parallel to the ridges and in each instance a strip lies about opposite the angles 13 formed between the flat portions 12 and the bases of the slanting portions ll of the faces of the plates. After the heel-forming block has been thus built up, a suiiicient pressure, which, however, need not be great, is applied to the plates f and 10 to cause all of the separate parts to adhere to each other by reason "of their gummed surfaces, and also sufiicient to cause the upper and lower surfaces of the heel forming block to be brought into intimate contact with the ridged surfaces of the form,- ing plates, thus conforming the sheets to. the angular surfaces of the strips 6. Thus, when the pressure is removed and the heelforming block is withdrawn from between the forming plates, it has substantially the form and appearance shown in Fig. 1 and designated by A. The heel-forming block is now prepared for shipment to the trade who cut the block up into single wedge heel blocks. This is preferably done by first cutting up the heel-forming block A by severing it in any suitable or convenient manner, on the dotted lines a, Fig. 4:. This produces a number of long, narrow, heelforming blocks, similar to what is shown in Fig. 5 andv designated by 13, each of said blocks being of a width equal to the mean length of two wedge heels and including in its structure one of the strips 6, the cross sectional area of the heel-forming blocks B being, generally, that of a diamond truncated at both ends. I

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the block shown in Fig. 5 may be directly formed by assembling a plurality of sheets of heel stock material, one dimension of said sheets being substantially equal to the added mean lengths of two heels of any given size, and a single strip of heel stock material laid across the sheets, and securing the assembled partsinto a single coherent article in the same manner as when larger sheets, requiring a plurality of strips, are used.

In the later production of heels, each of the heel-forming blocks 13 may be severed by cutting in the plane indicated by the dotted line 2) (Fig. 5), which plane preferably extends obliquely to the faces of the block B and cuts across the strip 6 as shown at 7; in Fig. 5. This oblique cutting is for the purpose of providing each of the heel blocks to be formed .with the desired heel pitch. As is obvious, the oblique cutting also saves stock, particularly where the pitch is marked. The severance of the block B along the line 6 produces two blocks similar to that indicated by C (Fig. 6). It will, be noted that each of the blocks C have incorporated in them one-half of one of the strips 6 designated as 6, the strip having been cut longitudinally through its center.

The blocks C are then severed by cutting on the dotted lines 0, and transversely of the strip portion 6 to produce single wedge heel blocks D such as are shown in Fig. 7. In this figure, 16 designates the breast of the heel, 17 the heel seat, 18 the back of the heel, and 19 the tread face of the heel. It will be noted that each of the strips 6 has been so subdivided in the severance of the heel forming block into single heel blocks that each of the single heel blocks D is provided with a wedge-shaped piece, or short lift, 6*, about midway of the height of the heel, and so located as to give the desiredgreater height at the back of the heel. This result is obtained because the constituent parts of the heel-forming block have initially been so placed relatively to each other and then severed along such ines that each single heel block D so produced is of wedge formation and properly proportioned for making a wedge heel.

It is desirable that the heel blocks be com pressed before being incorporated in a shoe. It is obvious that the single wedge heel blocks D, which are of angular formation, cannot readily be placed in a heel compressing machine until they have been shaped, to some extent, to the general form of a commercial heel blank. The next step, therefore, in the production of single heels is to shape or trim the lateral faces of the backs of the heel blocks D to a rounded surface. This may be done by trimming on the dotted line b, Fig. 7, which produces the rounded back surface indicated at 18 in Fig. 8. The heel blocks, after shaping, are ready to go to a heel compressing machine, having the ordinary form of dies, such, for instance, as that shown in the patent to E. A. Tripp, No. 77 6,87 5, of December 6th, 190i. This machine compresses the shaped heel block, shown in Fig. 8, and its dies are formed in such a manner as to produce a commercial heel blank E, such as shown in Fig. 9, having a heel seat 17*, a concaved lateral surface 18 at the back, and any other characteristics which may be found desirable. The heel blank E is thereafter manipulated as is usual with heel blanks made by any other method, in the steps of incorporating in the shoe and finishing.

The production of wedge heel blocks from the novel heel-forming block, as just described. does not form a part of the present invention as the method of making both the heelforming block and the wedge heel blocks is claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. i36,093, filed June 1,1908, from which the present application has been divided.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the particular manner in which the heel-forming block is built up is immaterial as it is obvious that the heel-forming block may vary in size and may be built up in many other ways while still falling within the scope and spirit of the invention, for, as already indicated, it is not the particular number of the parts, nor is it any peculiar shape or dimension of the parts, which is of importance, the importance residing in the relative location of the parts so as to produce a heel-forming block, which may be severed by right line cuts into a multiplicity of single heel blocks each having the desired wedge formation.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. As an article of manufacture a heel-l forming block for producing wedge heel blocks in multiple comprising a plurality of sheets of heel stock material, and one or more strips of heel stock material so located across said sheets and of such cross sectional area as to produce single wedge heel blocks by a severance of the heel-forming block on right lines through the assembled parts, said sheets and strip or strips being secured together to form a single coherent article.

2. As an article of manufacture a heelforming block for producing wedge heel blocks in multiple comprising a plurality of sheets of heel stock material and one or more strips of heel stock material having a lozenge-shaped cross sectional area located across said sheets, said parts being secured together with their surfaces conforming to each other to form a single coherent article.

8. As an article of manufacture a heelforming block for producing wedge heel blocks in multiple comprising a plurality of sheets of heel stock material having located across them one or more strips of heel stock material, said sheets being molded about said strip or strips in such a manner that the height of the block is greater in some parts than in others thereby providing a wedge formation at different parts of the heel-forming block.

ERASTUS E. WVINKLEY.

Witnesses:

AN x1e C. RIoHARDsoN, BURTON W. CARY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0..

It is herebyoertified that in Letters Patent No. 1,121,704, granted December 22,

1914, upon the application of Erastus E. Winkley, of Lynn, Massachusetts, for an improvement in Heel-Forming Blocks, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 35, for the reference-letter 6 read (Z; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 19th day of January, A. D., 1915.

[SEAL] R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

